


A bouquet of love

by RPFuck (Caliras)



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Banter, Fluff, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Canonical Character(s), Nervousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27587954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caliras/pseuds/RPFuck
Summary: Dan really needs to get some flowers for tattoo inspiration. Luckily, there's a flower shop right across the street.
Relationships: Daniel Condren/Kevin O'Reilly
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	A bouquet of love

**Author's Note:**

> Some rules because this was written about real people or contains caricatures of them. Reading further than the rules means you accept them.
> 
>   1. Do not harass the people I’ve written about- while this should go without saying, do _**not**_ bring this up to them. If I find out that somebody is doing this, I will lock the fic so that only registered users can read it. If you are someone I’ve written about and are uncomfortable with RPF, tell me and I will remove my fics. I don't really mind. My twitter is [@_RPFuck_](https://twitter.com/_RPFuck_) if you'd like to contact me. If anyone I write about says they are uncomfortable with RPF, I will remove it once I’m aware.
>   2. If this fic is deleted and you have it downloaded or saved it through other means, don’t reupload it. Don’t.
>   3. If you are unused to the site, heed the tags. They’re there for a reason.
>   4. (Optional since I know how anxiety is sometimes) If you have anything that says that the people I am writing about are uncomfortable with RPF, I would really appreciate it if you sent it to me. Also, if it’s a ship fic and they have a partner or partners who are uncomfortable with it, feel free to send that over too!
> 

> 
> That’s it for the rules, so thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the fic!
> 
> * * *
> 
> Fluff?? Who do I think I am?? But really though, I think this was my first G-rated fic, and it had no angst to drive the fluff, so I would love feedback on how it did. Also titles are hard and its late.

Dan was in a bit of a pickle. He needed reference flowers for his sketchbook. Flowers are quite the common tattoo choice so it wasn’t like he could say that he was shocked he needed to update his repertoire but this is where the problem came in. The only quick and easy way to get flowers that came in interesting arrangements was from the flower shop across the street. The problem came in with the owner, Jim Pickens, who was the _last_ kind of person you’d expect to run that type of shop. And he hated Dan. So there was that. Plus, he really gave Dan the creeps. It irked him that he was even _considering_ going to that shop, but it really was his best choice and you don’t get to be the best of the business by being _too_ picky. But even so, standing in front of the shop, pink and lace just about jumping off the storefront as it would make the creepy bastard in there even _slightly_ less creepy, he found himself wondering if it was even worth it at all.

Sighing, he braced himself as he walked through the doors, hearing the cheery bell ring out above his head. He was intent on sticking to the sides, picking out a bouquet and paying so fast that Jim wouldn’t have the wherewithal to even _begin_ conversation with him. He shuddered at the thought. It always seemed like Jim was trying to gain something, always wanting you to agree with him. It _freaked_ Dan out. Most other customers seemed to either ignore it or just not notice it but Dan dealt with enough customers to pick up on small social queues in order to prevent mishaps. Doing his best wallflower- ha- impression, he darted in between shelves, looking over the stacks of bouquets with a lightning quick glance, knowing that the owner had already been alerted to his entrance by the bell over the door. One of them caught his eye and his hand shot out, gripping it with such force he heard one of the stems snap. Luckily for him, he was fully intending on paying for this and he didn’t really need the stem to show in the sketch. Speed walking as fast as his legs would take him, he made it up to the counter and slammed the flowers down, all the while trying to rip his wallet out.

“HiI’dliketopurchasetheseplease-,” His voice trailed off as he finally looked up at the person at the register.

Wait. That wasn’t Jim. No, instead of an old man, there was a man about his age staring back at him with confusion and worry written all over his face. Huh. He slowed down, taking the time to pull out his wallet like a normal human being instead of someone that had all the desperation of someone who needed bear repellent _right that **very** second_. Which was _probably_ an apt comparison in regards to how he felt about Jim.

“...what’s the rush? Mad girlfriend?” It sounded like it _should_ be a joke, but the way he said it was light and traced with worry.

“No, uh, sorry, I just needed to- er, nevermind. Who’re you? What happened to the old owner?”

The man laughed, hand coming up to the back of his neck, “Oh, Jim, I’ve known him for a while and he usually does this- buys out a business or a lot for one, does whatever he likes before abandoning it. This time no one else wanted it and I’m out of a job so…”

He looked both reminiscing and awkward before he jolted back into the present, “And Kevin! My name is- my name is Kevin.”

“Oh.” And just like that, all tension left him, leaving him to stare at the man who really needed to ring up his bouquet or else he was just going to be stuck standing in a store he’d apparently tried to speedrun for no reason and freaked out the cashier.

“Er, hi, Kevin. I’m Dan.”

He froze. Ah. He’d probably just made this awkward. There was no reason to tell this cashier his name. Maybe he should just turn around and leave, but he’d already broken the stem of one of the flowers and- he wanted to melt into a teeny tiny puddle on the floor. But then Kevin laughed and Dan felt like that sound turned all of his anxiousness into complete mush. In fact, he was _basking_. He blushed as he realized that he was subconsciously leaning closer to the man. In an attempt to cover it up, he finished pulling his wallet out, avoiding eye contact with the ma- Kevin.

Luckily, Kevin seemed to realize that this was just a plain mess and started ringing him up, unluckily, he started making conversation as he did so, “Those tattoos you have look _awesome_ , by the way, where did you get them done?”

Finally, a question he could answer properly, “Oh, I did them myself, both when I was practicing and when I got better at it.”

He rolled up his sleeves further, showing off the rest of his inked arms, feeling the awkward moment slide away from them in a way he felt it wouldn’t have with any other cashier, any other store, or just… anything else, “The first time I tried inking my right arm was an absolute disaster since I’m right handed and the contortion you’d need to make that work would be remarkable. Left hand isn’t quite as steady when you’re not used to using it though. Luckily, now I can do cover ups on tattoos pretty well so I guess it made it worth it.”

“You did them yourself? Some of these look pretty professional, you must be pretty good.”

He couldn’t quite tell if Kevin was trying to say ‘no fucking way’ or was being genuine, so he went down the middle path, “Ahh, I’m sure I have better people at my parlor over there, but since I’m the owner, I get to say I’m the best and they can’t contradict me.” That was a bald-faced lie. Jesse can, would, and has before, called him out on his shit. He’s just not inclined to let other people know of that fact.

Kevin gave an accepting nod as Dan swiped his card, trying to not make a face as he realized he picked up one of the more expensive ones. Luckily for him, there wasn’t too much small talk afterwards, and he got out unscathed by the interaction. As soon as he was out of sight, however, he wasn’t ashamed to admit he did such a vigorous fist pump that for a moment, he thought he pulled something. He could go there and not interact with Jim! It wasn’t until he was sketching out the bouquet that he realized two things; one, that he hadn’t stopped thinking about their interaction, and two, that the reason for that was because Kevin was just his type. His outright scream as he thought about how cute Kevin looked in that yellow apron of his was, in fact, something that he was ashamed at. Only a little bit though. He did look _really nice_ in it.

* * *

Dan found himself going back to the flower shop more and more now, now that he knew that Jim wasn’t coming by and the fact that he realized that he desperately needed to play catch up with how much he’d been pushing flower studies back. Of course, one of the reason’s may be because of the man behind the counter, but that wasn’t important. Okay, maybe it was a little important, Dan was going to go _broke_ if he kept this up and then Jesse would yell at him and that doesn’t sound like a good time. But seriously, how _dare_ Kevin not only look that good, but be funny and charming and interesting as well?! This was just plain unfair. Dan was fully willing to empty out his bank account if it meant that he got to talk to him, even just a little bit more. Sure, there were times when he just window shopped, but not only did he feel somewhat bad about it, but most times something genuinely caught his eye and he wanted to buy it and talking was more common at the cashier so….

Dan has no one to blame but himself, but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t blame Kevin too. Just for. Dan doesn’t know, being him?! That sounds rude. Whatever. It was the truth. More often than not, he seems to exit the building hiding a blush and he _swears_ if he finds out those little touches and looks are intentional, he’s going to- he blushed. If they were intentional, that was an entire other matter. Kevin seemed to only get more touchy over time, sometimes very nearly holding Dan’s hand in his. Dan patience was being pushed to the brink. Kevin’s probably just a very touchy guy, but that doesn’t mean that Dan doesn’t want to kiss him senseless every time one of his touches lingers for far, far longer than it should. Maybe Dan’s seeing something that isn’t there, but he also isn’t blind. So. He’s going to take Jesse’s advice. And, uh, in her words, ‘tell the fucker you love him before you break the bank you dumbass’.

The funny thing is, he can’t give him flowers since his shop is the only place he buys flowers now, and he can’t give him food because he doesn’t know it Kevin has any allergies, so he has nothing to hide behind- nothing to fiddle with nervously as he gave his confession. And this may or may not be turning Dan into a nervous _wreck_. You’d think it'd be easy, just an ‘hey, I love you, could we go on a date sometime, maybe?’ but, no, instead, Dan worried about all the things that could go wrong, all the misimplications that he could accidentally say. And now, standing outside the store, he still had no plan. They’d talked about so many things; the difficulties of making a bouquet stand out while not being too clashy, how tattoo gun maintenance worked, how most flower sellers would coat their product in so much chemicals it could give you a rash and how Kevin avoided these sellers, how Dan had to outright refuse some tattoos that he knew clients would despise later- anything and everything that came to mind.

Which really should’ve been the indication he needed that he came here too often, but still. You don’t exactly gain that kind of thing with any cashier you come across. He shook out his hands, and, heart beating out of his chest, he decided that this was probably the time to stop stalling and just walk into the store. So he did. The normally cheerful bell seeming to signal his doom, he forced his feet forward, bypassing the flowers and seeing Kevin’s face light up at seeing him. Oh no. His steps stuttered. What if he couldn’t do this? But he had to. He returned Kevin’s smile the best he could, taking the time to notice that today, Kevin had a flower in his hair. Which was strange since he never seemed to have one before. It was a pink camellia and if you asked Dan how he knew that he’d probably curse the fact that he really did come here too often.

“Hey, man, nice flower!” A good opener, hopefully.

“Oh, thank you! We got in a new batch today and this one had its stem broken off but the head seemed to be in good shape, so I decided, why not?”

Kevin’s smile was infectious, almost enough to make Dan forget what he came for, but, after a deep breath, he made his move, “Kevin I-”

Hm. No. Wait. This was- this was going too fast. He grabbed the counter to stop himself from getting too lightheaded at this. Alright, this was fine. This was fine, he’d work up to it.

“You.” He forcibly relaxed his shoulders and looked into Kevin’s eyes, letting his awkwardness go, if only just for this moment, “When I came into this store, I thought I would be talking with the old owner. I never really liked him, so when I saw you, I felt so relieved. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized how much I liked our conversation, no matter how awkward it turned out.”

He took in a deep breath. This next part would be harder.

“I started coming by more often. And I can’t say it was all for the flowers. It was… it was for you.” His hands tightened on the counter, knuckles turning white as he forged on, “I love- I love your smile. I love how passionate you get about this store. I love how much love and patience you put into your work. I love your jokes and your humor and the fact that I feel at peace around you. I- I love you. And so I want to ask you- ask you if you’d like to go out on a date with me?”

Kevin didn’t look as if he were breathing which was nice because Dan wasn’t so sure if he was either. Then, without saying anything, Kevin leaned over the counter, closing in on Dan, close enough that Dan could hear Kevin’s breath hitch as he gently cupped Dan’s face. He felt so vulnerable that it felt almost like a physical fraying in his mind, Then Kevin brought their lips together and Dan found that he didn’t mind. Not at all. They broke apart and he could almost swear that Kevin was blushing more than him.

“Sorry, might have jumped the gun there but,” Kevin grinned, a little bit lopsided before continuing, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”

Dan beamed back at him, watching as Kevin took the flower from his hair and tucked it behind Dan’s ear.

“Do you think it would be weird to admit that the real reason I had that in my hair was because it reminded me of you?”

Dan giggled, feeling the butterflies in his stomach turn into warmth, “I dunno, what do you think?”

“I think… that I won’t admit it then, if you're not going to give me a straight answer. But I should give you your answer, yes, Daniel, I’ll go on a date with you.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I only want to if you admit that this flower reminds you of me.” He cheekily replied, leaning against the counter as close to Kevin as he could get.

“Hmmmmmm. How good will the date be?”

“I… I haven’t planned it out yet. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.”

“Then I’m not going to.”

“...”

“Anyway, what time works for you? Not for a date, of course, an _extremely_ platonic thing between bros, y’know?”

“I’ll be free on Saturday about five-ish, but I thought that I was the one asking you out?”

“You did, but this isn’t a date, it’s, uh, extremely heterosexual. You wouldn’t tell anyone if we were to kiss on it though, would you bro?”

“Call me bro _one more time_ and I might.”

“Bruh.”

“So our not-date is on Saturday then? Or does that not work for you?”

“It works for me- so it’s a date then! And yes, a date.”

“You still haven’t admitted it.”

“And I’m not going to. But I will admit this; I love you too.”

Dan’s face flushed, banter coming to a halt. He’d almost forgotten that he’d just confessed. But now Kevin had too. His hand came up to touch the flower.

“A date, then?”

“...a date.”


End file.
